Pie and ice cream

It was time to take off and head back to Ottawa before returning to the Island. Before that, we made a quick stop at C's aunt's house on another island.

Heading north on St. Charles Blvd is the welcome sign to the community of Kirkland...

which is a suburb on the Island of Montreal, located in the southwesterly portion of Quebec.

Basilique Notre-Dame, Montreal

Can you believe I'm actually resuming my Canada posts?

It's about time too, eh!

Well now...to refresh your memory, it was a damn hot day that day we were in Montreal. We were with FarmerJohn seeing some of the sights and thought we'd see this famous basilica before leaving...

Refreshments and snacks of the maple kind

If you ever take a trip to Canada, or more specifically Montreal or Quebec, you will find tons of maple syrup products everywhere, from the grocery store, farmer's market to the airport. Here, at one of the sidestreets near the Marche de Bonsecours in Montreal, we saw the ubiquitous "Sirop d'erable" (maple syrup)...

Our attention wasn't really piqued until we got to the end of the vendor's table...

Old Montreal during the day

It's back to the last bits of our Canada trip from last year...

That was one of the best vacations we've had, especially since we got to spend time with blogger friend, C and her family as we traversed their great nation via minivan!

Earlier that day, we'd enjoyed smoked meat sandwiches at Schwartz's Deli and just recently had some awesome desserts at juliette & chocolat. At this point in the day, tt was time for their daughter's nap so her husband reparked the car to a shadier spot while C and her daughter stayed behind to rest....

juliette & chocolat

We were still on the same street and noticed this arresting red sign...

The word "chocolat" caught our attention,  so of course we had to stop in...

Au Pain Dore

After our awesome lunch at Schwartz's Deli, we ventured out into the blazing heat...

while enjoying the many street murals scattered throughout the boulevard...

Schwartz's Deli - Charcuterie Hebraique de Montreal Inc.

My Canada posts have been drawn out longer than the entrails of a medieval torture victim. After more than a year since our summer visit, I've finally reached the Schwartz's Deli post.

This was THE place that we just had to go. Even C and her husband FJ (seen here carrying LO on his back) agreed. We could not miss going to Schwartz's...

We had our first smoked meat sandwich a few days earlier at Canadian chain La Belle Province, but Schwartz's is considered the most famous purveyor of Montreal style smoked meat...

Walking around in Montreal...

On the (crappy) freeways in Montreal...Slush Puppies are the Canadian equivalent to Icees or Slurpee and are the most popular ice slush "in the world" according to their company website.

TC thought their mascot was amusing...

I will never complain about the roads in San Diego again! The freeways in Montreal are atrocious! Worse traffic than LA (during rush hour), millions of pot holes, etc...

Luckily, our drive to get to downtown Montreal didn't take long and before we knew it, we were there scoping for parking...

Canada 2012 - Day 8 - Breakfast buffet @ Aloft, Montreal

Having spent our first and only night at the Aloft Hotel, we were ready for a big day to explore Montreal again...

but this time in the daylight. We had an idea of what we wanted to eat that day which included some iconic Montreal fare, but first...

Cafe Terrasse Chez Catherine

Located in a prime spot along the riverfront was this little cafe serving ice cream, gelato and crepes...

Pardon the craptastic night photos...

It was time for a little dessert before calling it a night...

Old Montreal at Night

Just like the night before in old Quebec city, we enjoyed the sights and sounds of the old Montreal quarter at night...

when it was much cooler and less crowded. Above, a blurry (sorry) shot of a shop offering poutine, which can be found everywhere in Montreal.

Since we just had that awesome potluck meal at C's aunt's house, we were just there to take in the sights and perhaps pick up a little dessert later that evening...

Party food in Canada

At C's aunt's house, we made our way to the backyard where the party was at...

C's cousins were super nice, greeting us and making us feel at home. One of them offered Bert a selection of Canadian beers....

Aloft Hotel - Montreal, Quebec

Ah, the brief return of the Canada posts...

Here we are, on the road again...en route to our hotel in Montreal.

Traffic may not look that bad in the photo, but later on that evening, it took C and her husband nearly an hour and a half  (when it should have been half an hour) to pick us up....

Canada Trip - Day 8 Highlights

We spent the night in Montreal...

Here's one of the sitting lounges at our swanky hotel...

Although we got a tiny glimpse of Montreal's Old Port at night, we wanted to see it during the day before we headed back to Ottawa...